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Business Objects XI 4.0 New Features - What's New?

Business Objects XI 4.0 (BI4.0) is currently in ramp-up phase and will be launched on by end of August 2011 for general availability. This is a major release with many new features and new reporting tool. Below is the summary of 'What is New' in Business Objects 4.0

Installation :

Components Included in BI 4.0: Many components which needed a separate installation/server in previous versions are now included in XI 4.0 installation. For example SAP Integration Kit is now included in Enterprise 4.0 not separate installation is required.

Likewise, the following components are now integrated into the SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0 installationprogram, and no longer require a separate installation:

  •   Enterprise Resource Planning

The installation program now includes support for ERP integration (SAP Business Warehouse (BW),Siebel Enterprise, PeopleSoft Enterprise, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne) and portals (MicrosoftSharePoint, WebLogic Portal, WebSphere Portal, Oracle Portal Server).For more information, see "Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integration".

  •  Lifecycle Management

The Lifecycle Management Console is now included in SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise and enablesyou to move Business Intelligence (BI) resources from one system to another without affectingresource dependencies. It also enables you to manage different versions of BI resources, managedependencies of BI resources, and roll back a promoted resource to restore the destination systemto an earlier state.The installation program can install and configure the Subversion version control system, or use anexisting installation of Subversion or ClearCase.Lifecycle management console replaces Upgrade Management Tool for promotion workflows.

  • SAP Solution Manager support

The installation program can now integrate SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise into the SAP SolutionManager infrastructure. This allows system inventory and performance instrumentation tools likeSAP System Landscape Directory (SLD), SAP Solution Manager Diagnostics (SMD), and CA WilyIntroscope, and IBM Tivoli.

  • Data Federation

Data federation enables multi-source universes by distributing queries across disparate data sources,and lets you federate data through a single data foundation.

  • Mobile server support

Mobile server support allows your users to remotely access business intelligence (BI) reports, metrics,and real-time data from a wireless device.

  • SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design (formerly Xcelsius) server support

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design is a tool for data visualization and the creation of dynamic,interactive dashboards.

  • Language support

Installation and web application deploymentSupported languages are now only installed by the installation program.Note:Carefully consider which languages need to be installed for your organization before installing them.To add or remove language support later requires that you remove and re-install SAP BusinessObjectsEnterprise.

  • SAP BW publishing servers

The ability to publish reports to SAP BW no longer requires a separate installation.Note:The SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise installation program no longer includes Client Tool components.To install Client Tools, use the dedicated SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise Client Tools installation program.The following improvements have been made to the deployment of web applications to a web applicationserver:

  • WDeploy Graphical User Interface (GUI)

The WDeploy web application deployment tool now includes a GUI for the deployment and removalof all web applications to a web application server.

  • Web application consolidation

The Central Management Console (CMC), BI launch pad (formerly InfoView), and other core webapplications have been consolidated into a single archive.

New Applications in XI 4.0:

       Some new applications/tools/concepts introduced in 4.0. Some of these are administrative applications like 'Monitoring', some are new reporting tools like 'Analysis' and some are developer tools like 'Information Design Tool(IDT)' 

  • Upgrade management tool

The Upgrade management tool is a new software component that lets you upgrade the content of yourBI repository from a previous version of SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise.You can perform a complete upgrade or an incremental upgrade. A complete upgrade replaces thefunctionality that had previously existed in the Central Configuration Manager (CCM). The incrementalupgrade replaces the functionality that had previously existed in the Import Wizard.To migrate the content of a BI repository to another repository with the same version, use the LifecycleManagement Console.

  • Monitoring

Monitoring is a new tool in SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0. This application provides the abilityto capture the runtime and historical metrics of SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0 servers andapplications, for reporting and notification. System administrators can use the tool to identify if a reportingapplication is functioning normally and if the response times are as expected.

The following features are also available in Monitoring:

•  Check the performance of each server: A feature named Watches, represents the state of eachserver as traffic lights. The system administrator can set thresholds for these watches and receivealerts when the thresholds are breached. This assists in taking proactive steps for potential failuresor outages.

•  View critical system KPIs: For monitoring activities and resources. The KPIs are displayed in thedashboard page of the monitoring application.

•  Test system availability and response time with Probes: Probes simulate workflows to check if theservers and services in the Enterprise deployment are functioning as expected. By analyzing theroundtrip time of these probes in intervals, the system administrator can assess system usagepatterns.

•  Analyze peak load and peak period for the Central Management Server (CMS): This helps thesystem administrator to determine whether more licenses or system resources are required.

•  Integrate with other enterprise applications: The SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI4.0 monitoringapplication can be integrated with other enterprise applications like SAP Solution Manager and IBMTivoli.

  • The information design tool (IDT)

The information design tool is the SAP BusinessObjects design environment for creating and publishingnew SAP BusinessObjects universes and connections. IDT is used for new multisource universes. The information design tool lets you takeadvantage of these major new universe design features:

•  Dimensional universes that support OLAP dimensions and hierarchies

•  Multisource universes that federate multiple relational data sources

•  A design environment that facilitates designer teamwork and universe resource sharing

•  A security editor for universe data and metadata

•  Extended connection management

New and modified features in existing SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise products :

SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0 represents the full integration of traditional SAP BusinessObjectsand Crystal Reports products, combining the best features of each product line. Whether you have anexisting SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise system or a Crystal Enterprise system, you will notice a widerange of new features in SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0.

  • Administration

    • Auditing : A new auditing dashboard allowing central administration of auditing is introduced with new consistentevents and new auditing database schema allowing easier creation of auditing reports. Action auditingallowing correlation of multiple auditing events resulting from a single user action.

    • Data Access: The Data Access layer provides the following new features:64-bit operating system supportConnection Server and the data access drivers can be loaded and run on all operating systems supportedby the release of SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise, as follows:

      •  32-bit Microsoft Windows.

      •  64-bit Microsoft Windows and UNIX flavors (Linux, HP Itanium, IBM AIX and Sun Solaris Sparc)when Connection Server is in-proc or used as a remote server.For 64-bit Microsoft Windows platforms, SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise also provides a 32-bit remoteConnection Server to access datasources for which 64-bit middleware are not available. For moreinformation about 64-bit support, see the  Data Access Guide  .

    • New Java CORBA server: Adaptive Connectivity Service is a new N-tier deployment mode of the Data Access layer through JavaCORBA server. It allows user applications to access any Java-based datasources remotely. For moreinformation, see the  SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0 Planning Guide  

    • New ODBC connectivities: The Data Access layer provides the following new connectivities:

      • IBM DB2 UDB for iSeries v6 through ODBC and DB2 CAE on all platforms.

      • Ingres Database 9 on all platforms.

      • SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA) 1.0 on MS Windows.

      • Sybase SQL Anywhere 11 on all platforms.

      • Teradata 13 on all platforms.

    • New JDBC connectivities: The Data Access layer provides the following new connectivities:

      • SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA) 1.0 on all platforms.

      • Sybase SQL Anywhere 11 on all platforms.

      • Teradata 13 on all platforms.For information about how to create a connection, see the  Data Access Guide  .

    • Deprecated connectivities: Existing connections to the following datasources continue to work but you cannot create new connectionsto them:

      • MS SQL Server 7.x

      • MS SQL Server 2000

      • MySQL 4

      • Oracle 9

      • Informix Dynamic Server 7.3

      • Informix Dynamic Server 2000

      • Sybase Adaptive Server 12

      • Teradata V2 R6

      • RedBrick Decision Server 6.x

        DB2 UDB for OS/390 v7SAP MaxDB supportThe Data Access layer provides a new connectivity to SAP MaxDB 7.7 database through ODBC andJDBC on all 32-bit and 64-bit platforms supported in this release. 


    •  

       Data Security

The following enhancements to data security have been added:

•  A FIPS-140 compliant mode of operation.

•  Specialized Cryptographic Officers group to manage encryption.

•  A two-key encryption system to protect sensitive data stored in the CMS.

 

  •  
    • The data federation administration tool 

 
The data federation administration tool is a rich client interface that offers easy-to-use features tomanage your data federation services.These services, including the data federation query engine, are integrated in the SAP BusinessObjectsEnterprise platform. This technology enables multi-source universes by distributing queries acrossdisparate data sources, and lets you federate data through a single data foundation.

Note:The data federation technology in SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0 is not a replacement for DataFederator XI 3.0. Some data federation features, such as mappings and target tables, are not availablein SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0. To use those features, you can create universes using theuniverse design tool and then add connections to an installation of Data Federator XI 3.0.

The data federation administration tool lets you optimize data federation queries and fine-tune the datafederation query engine for the best possible performance.Use the data federation administration tool to do the following:
•  Test your SQL queries.
•  Visualize optimization plans, which detail how federated queries are distributed to each source.
•  Compute statistics and set system parameters.
•  Manage properties to control how queries are executed in each data source at the connector level.For example, you can use a property like maxConnections to set the maximum number of connectionsfrom the query engine to the underlying data source, thus permitting or limiting the number ofsubqueries the engine can send to that data source simultaneously.
•  Monitor running SQL queries.
•  Browse the history of executed queries.

  • Integration for ERP Solutions The add-on solutions for integration with SAP, Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JD EdwardsEnterpriseOne and Siebel, are now part of the standard SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise package.
  •  Licensing A licensing model based on user roles has been introduced for SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise.•  BI Analyst: for content designers•  BI Viewer: for content consumersNote:The previous licensing models based on named and concurrent users will continue to be supported.New and modified features in existing SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise products

  •  
    • Lifecycle Management Console
    •  Platform Search

Platform Search is now completely re-architected with advanced management features such as clusterawareness, indexing, and search. It is now exposed using OpenSearch API, BI launch pad portal, LiveOffice, BI Widgets and BI Workspace.It also offers different techniques such as:

•  attribute searching

•  enclosed searching using quotation marks

•  wildcard searchingPlatform Search is equipped with a number of advanced search configurable options

  • Developer Flexibility


    SDK featuresApplication developers can access many of the new features included in this release by using theprovided SDKs. For more information about SDK support for new features, see the correspondingdeveloper guide.For information about what's new in the SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise Java SDK, see the  SAPBusinessObjects Enterprise Java SDK Developer Guide  . This SDK includes the following enhancements:

     

    •  Support for alerting
    •  Support for data security
    •  Support for role-based authentication
    •  Changes to auditing
    •  Changes to BIAR interfaces to allow direct transfer of objects between two Central ManagementServers (CMS)
    •  Changes to  CeProgID  and  CeKind  class usageFor information about what's new in the Report Application Server (RAS) Java SDK, see the  ReportApplication Server Java SDK Developer Guide

  • End User Experience

    New Tools/Features:

    Advanced Analysis, Web edition (Renamed to 'Analysis') : This is Voyager's successor for OLAP reporting. The code name was 'Pioneer'. 
    SAP BusinessObjects Advanced Analysis, Web edition is the successor to SAP BusinessObjectsVoyager and the premium alternative to SAP BEx Analyzer. Advanced Analysis provides the followingnew features and enhancements, which are focused on improving productivity and depth of analysis:

    BI Launch Pad: BI launch pad (formerly known as InfoView) features an improved user interface and additional optionsfor interface customization.

    BI Workspaces: This section provides a high-level overview of the components and features provided in the latest releaseof BI workspaces for SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0. The term Dashboard Builder has beenrebranded to BI workspaces in this release

    Dashboard Design : SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design (formerly called Xcelsius) contains new features andenhancements that are focused on improving productivity and direct enterprise data connectivity. Thesefeatures and enhancements include new and updated support for SAP BusinessObjects Universequeries and integration with SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise

    Explorer :SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is a data discovery application that allows you to retrieve answers toyour business questions from corporate data quickly and directly. You use a powerful search engineto find relevant data that is held within consistent and meaningful datasets known as Information Spaces.Integration with BI launch padSAP BusinessObjects Explorer is installed as an add-on to SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0.You launch SAP BusinessObjects Explorer from within the BI Launch pad. You can launch the Exploreras application or you can open and explore an Information Space directly from the BI launch paddocument list on the Documents tab 

    Interactive Analysis: SAP BusinessObjects Interactive Analysis (formerly Web Intelligence) is a query, reporting and analysistool used to build reports from relational and OLAP data sources and to analyze data using featuressuch as filters, conditional formatting and data tracking. It has many new features and new chart types.

    SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise :  and SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise reports.SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise is a newly designed version of the Crystal Reports designer. Theobjectives of the SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise solution are to streamline the report creationprocess, provide significantly better support for the SAP BusinessObjects Semantic Layer, and to takeadvantage of better connectivity to SAP BW. In addition, there are a few new features which customerscan use to leverage the SAP BusinessObjects platform in its Enterprise, Edge, or Crystal Reports Serverform.

    It is important to understand that there are a few significant differences between the initial version ofSAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise and SAP Crystal Reports 2008 / 2011. These gaps should beunderstood clearly and taken into consideration before you decide whether to leverage SAP CrystalReports for Enterprise as your reporting solution. Another document will be made available which clearlydefines these differences and how you can decide which version to leverage now and in the future.
    Note:The new SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise platform will be able to process both SAP Crystal Reports2011

    SAP Crystal Reports 2011 : SAP Crystal Reports 2011 continues to build on the powerful reporting features and success of CrystalReports 2008 while also providing new features of specific interest to standalone report designers andapplication developers. Using the new read-only report format and export to XSLX features you cancontinue leveraging those features from Crystal Reports 2008 which you have become familiar with,while providing access to your reports in new ways. Through our integration with Visual Studio 2010,application developers can update their applications to the new features available from Microsoft whilecontinuing to embed the flexible and interactive reporting features of Crystal Reports.


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